


Promises Released

by dagas isa (dagas_isa)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fairy Tales, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-01-23
Updated: 2003-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-07 12:52:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dagas_isa/pseuds/dagas%20isa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kairi loves Sora, Riku loves Kairi. Can Kairi remain true to Sora while keeping a promise she accidentally made to Riku? A retelling of Chaucer's Franklin's Tale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises Released

Once upon a time on the Destiny Islands, there existed a young hero known as Sora who loved one of the purest young ladies in all the worlds. Before he ever left on his grand adventures away from his island, he secretly hoped to gain her attention through competition with his best friends. He raced, dueled, anything to prove his worth to this young lady, but never to any avail, as she seemed to always regard him as a childhood friend and nothing more.

When the door to the world was connected and Sora started his grand adventure with the creatures of fantasy, he looked desperately for her, perceiving his love to be in grave danger. When his best friend dropped numerous hints of her peril and Sora himself saw her spiritless shell, he vowed to do whatever necessary to save her. And, in the end, when saving her meant giving up his own heart, he smiled as he thrust the special Keyblade into his chest.

For her part, his love Kairi carried the same devotion towards Sora as he did toward her. For her heart was his heart and his was hers, and so they shared a bond that many had tried to give a name but never adequately described. Kairi herself had dragged Sora up from the dark abyss he had fallen into and through her power of will given him back his part of their heart.

After such a miracle occurred and Sora regained his heart, the two made a vow. While Sora still had to find their friend, he would return, a promise he almost fulfilled as Kingdom Hearts closed. Even as they separated for what might be eternity, they clung to the hope that eternity was not as long as people said it was and held faith that one day Sora would return to Destiny Islands.

"I'll come back to you," Sora yelled over the distance, meaning every word with a new fervor, "I promise."

"I know you will." Kairi grasped at the air, hoping in vain that the separation was not truly for real. The feeling of still air at the tips of her fingers was a torment, as Sora only floated further into the distance.

Through her tears, Kairi watched the recreation of the one world where she had been happy because that was where they had played, all three of them: Sora, his best friend and herself. Each building, each tree, each path had its memories, and the memories were reborn anew as the island sprouted to life around her. When the stars returned to their rightful place in the sky, Kairi guarded the few memories she had from her time off the islands, particularly of those few precious moments when they were together and finally honest with one another.

The solitude ended as her friends returned to the islands from their sudden nonexistence since the islands' destruction. Even Sora's best friend, whom she had thought was lost forever in the darkness, appeared on the island, seemingly none the worse for his trials. None appeared to even remember being off this little world as they continued on with daily life. And so only Kairi poured her hope and will into waiting for Sora to return.

In the nights, Kairi dreamed of Sora and the long path he walked, each step taking him one stride away from her, and yet each one taking him one minute closer as well. Sometime she swore she heard his voice, telling her to keep her courage and her faith. She clung to her dreams as if they were Sora's real voice speaking to her across the distance; for as long as she had the dreams, she could still believe in his return, in his life.

In the days, Kairi wandered aimlessly around the island, resting where to her impulse told her: here, the beach where they had built the raft, there on the small island where he and his best friend always dueled. Most often though, her feet carried her to the little cave hidden at the end of a path. The Secret Place, as everyone on the island called it, was a favorite exploring place of all the children, the walls of the cave marked with the drawings, each holding their own significance of at least a dozen children. Some she had done herself, and one of these Kairi always paused at.

The drawing of Sora kept her company during the day, and his crude sketch of her reinforced her belief that he held the same feelings toward her. That little drawn hand offering the drawn Kairi the paopu fruit always provoked a laugh as she thought of Sora believing that silly little legend. And yet, in one of those days when the pang of missing Sora resonated more strongly than usual, Kairi picked up the stone she used to draw on the cave and offered the image of Sora the image of a paopu fruit, making herself content that even though they might never share a real one, at least they felt an emotional connection worthy of a paopu.

Sometimes when she entered the Secret Place, she just looked blankly at the door embedded in the wall of the cave. Kairi feebly attempted to push in the wooden door, afraid to try too hard and confirm that it was closed forever. She pressed herself against the door, willing it to absorb her so she could search for Sora herself in the other worlds. Thus a great many hours passed with Kairi in the Secret Place where her memories and her hopes seemed to converge into a single point.

Kairi's behavior since the recreation of the island did not go unnoticed by her friends. Since Sora's sudden disappearance, her moping and aimless wanderings drew the attention of anyone who had known her before the adventure. Without success they attempted to distract her, to lead her away from the Secret Place and those other places which served as memorials to Sora, to places where she could forget herself and her worries for a while.

Kairi allowed this sometimes, understanding that falling into despair wouldn't bring Sora back any sooner than if she allowed herself to live a semblance of a life. Other times, she isolated herself, indulging in fantasies, both light and dark, of either seeing Sora or ending her pain, and these times her good friends fought passionately against this isolation, forcing her to concentrate on something other than Sora. Little by little, Kairi's friends pulled her out of this depression or the appearance of this depression, until she only visited the Secret Place once every few days or so. Inside her heart, though, the memories of Sora still pounded, still made her miss him as fiercely as ever.

On a particular night, when Kairi particularly missed Sora and her friends were particularly determined to distract her, they took her to a party on the seashore. Colorful lanterns hung from all the coconut trees and huts, giving the appearance of tinted stars suspended just above the ground. Someone had brought out bright flowers from the interior of the island, turning the beach into a tropical paradise filled with lush greens and hot pinks and spicy reds. A huge bonfire rested in the center of the set up, providing a center of heat and light. Music radiated from an unknown source, cheerful and entirely suited to the festive mood. Everyone danced and sang and ate the barbecued food, thoroughly enjoying themselves, except Kairi who sat by the fire wishing Sora were next to her.

Other than Kairi, the only person not enjoying the party was Riku, Sora's best friend. On the bent paopu tree he perched, watching the beach party with passing interest and instead focusing on the lonesome Kairi. He remembered his time off the world, burning in shame at the mistakes he had made and the damage he had caused. He saw Kairi's longing for Sora and wished he could cure it somehow, for Riku himself longed for Kairi's devotion. In reality he was as sad as she, both in missing his best friend and in knowing that Kairi could only live for Sora, but unlike Kairi, Riku strove to hide his sadness with that same self-confident manner he used to carry naturally. Those rare times when his masked slipped, he shrugged it off with an general explanation that he wished things could be as they were before, before they had left the island, before when Riku had a chance to win Kairi's love. And on this night, unable to bear his burden any longer, Riku crossed the bridge separating his island from the main one, intending to tell Kairi exactly what he felt.

Staring into the fire and almost swearing she could see Sora's face in the flames, Kairi imagined that her beloved was right beside her. She felt the pressure of a gloved hand on hers, and she instinctively grasped it.

"Sora," she called, "is that you?"

"Not quite." The voice, though familiar, definitely did not belong to Sora.

Kairi sighed and turned towards her friend. "Oh hi, Riku." Her hand slipped out of his in a quiet, unobtrusive way.

"Do you still miss him that much?"

Once again, Kairi stared into the flames. "Of course I do, he was my best friend . . . more than that. And we never had that chance to be together."

"Look, I miss him too." Riku confessed and prepared to confess what really was bothering him, "but what if he doesn't come back? You can't spend your life waiting for him, especially when there are other people who love you as much as he does."

She turned to Riku, her full attention on him now. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Kairi,"--He sighed that word, savoring its sound on his tongue--"I love you. I wish it could be me trapped outside the world instead of Sora, but it's not. I just hope that if the day comes when you can forget about Sora you'll remember me instead."

"I could never forget Sora, never." She crossed her arms in front of her. However, with a small smile crossing her face and lighting her eyes for the first time in recent memory, she added, "But then again, if you could find a way to connect the worlds again and open the door in the Secret Place, I would see you as more than a friend."

"That's the only way there is?"

Kairi nodded. Riku gazed into the starry sky, a faraway look in his eyes. "Forget about it. You know it's not going to happen."

Riku shrugged. "Sure it's impossible, but I can dream, can't I?" And with that, he rose and retreated back to his island, actually deep in thought for once.

He spent a few minutes just watching Kairi, as her friends discovered her moping and coerced her into joining a game of beach volleyball. How quickly the smile returned to her face and how false it seemed appearing so suddenly, he noticed. The scene of the party played across his eyes like a film while Riku thought of more important things, namely, how he could accomplish this impossible task of connecting all the worlds.

Poor Riku, he spent the rest of that night thinking of Kairi and doing nothing but sitting on that paopu tree, trying to convince himself that nothing was impossible, least of all connecting the worlds again. He tore his brains to shreds contemplating exactly how he might accomplish this task. Day and night, he obsessed over connecting the worlds, even when he was dueling, fighting, or racing with the other youths on the island.

Two years passed in this way, with Riku thinking of nothing but connecting the worlds, and Kairi pining away over Sora. That Secret Place became their refuge, though always separately. It saddened each to know the other spent so much time in that cave, wishing for what might never be and against the other's desires. What Kairi wanted most, Riku prayed would never come, and what Riku desired, Kairi wished that he would accept that it would never be fulfilled.

Kairi never stopped longing for Sora, never stopped visiting the drawing of her and Sora sharing the paopu. No longer, though, did she lean against the door in the hopes that it would open, knowing that it might mean Riku found away to complete his impossible task. Riku, on the other hand, never looked at that mural, which only served to remind him just how deep the connection between Kairi and Sora truly was, and instead fixated his mind on the door, willing it to open, pounding it, chopping it with an axe on those few times he managed to sneak one in. So desperate was he to accomplish his impossible mission that when the opportunity to open the door came, he could not do anything but agree to the deal.

As with all the other times Riku came to the same place, he assured himself that Kairi was otherwise occupied, and thinking he was in solitude continued through the dark passageway. He sat down by the door as always, looking at it with an intense stare, concentrating so fiercely on the door that he did not notice the hooded figure until it spoke.

"What burns inside you so that you do nothing but stare at this door all day?" the deep voice inquired, at first sounding only like some ominous presence from Riku's thoughts before he realized that it came from an external source.

"I need to open that door," Riku explained without actually explaining anything of importance.

"And for what reason do you desire this door to be opened?" the hooded figure asked.

"Who are you to know?" Riku lashed out, "What could you understand?"

"I am just a lowly magician," the voice said laughing, "but I understand more than you could even grasp. Your heart longs for the company of your friend, but she wastes away wanting someone else." Something about the voice and mannerisms seemed familiar, but something about the memories connected with it remained fuzzy even as Riku tried to place it.

"How would you know?"

"I have spent much time in this place, as you and the princess have. I see each of you, secretly wishing for what the other one despairs of. I could give you your wish or Kairi her wish, for they are the same thing. You both want the door opened and the worlds connected again. And I have he power to turn your wishes into reality."

"What's the catch? Don't tell me you work for free?"

"Of course not. What would you be willing to give up to have your princess? Think about it, and please be honest. Only a heart that wishes truly shall have its wish granted."

Riku thought about it, despite knowing the answer right away. Once before he had lost his heart, only having it restored through redemption. He knew the pain of the darkness of hopelessness. Could he suffer that again for a short time with Kairi? He knew the answer; all he doubted was whether he could summon the will to say the words.

Finally, he could keep it quiet no longer. "My heart," he responded, "If you could grant me my wish, I would give you my heart."

The hooded figure scrutinized Riku, the tone of his voice, the posture of his body, judging whether the answer was lie or truth. "It is done," the magician said. "I accept your terms. Now, run along and play while I do my work. By the time tomorrow comes on your island, the worlds shall be connected once more. I will even give you time to enjoy your wish before I come collect my payment."

Riku left, a shivering sensation moving through his body. What had been impossible before would be a certainty in only a day, he thought, running from the Secret Place with the joyous energy of an earlier age. That he made the greatest sacrifice of all to achieve it meant nothing to him now, just as long as he could be with Kairi. All over the island, people noticed Riku's much improved mood and questioned its reason. He did not explain, not wanting to jinx himself and knowing that none of his friends knew of the desperation he had felt for so long. Instead, like his pain, he conveyed his joy in general terms, saying that the weight that had pressed down on him so long had crumbled, leaving them more puzzled about his condition than before.

Kairi, who that day had neglected to visit the Secret Place, did not see Riku and so did not suspect that her dream and her fear were about to be consummated. That night she dreamed of Sora, as she usually did, hearing his promises to come back to her. Upon awakening, though, the usual sorrow of it having only been a dream ceased to come down on her, instead filling her with the hope that Sora was really coming back to her.

Riku appeared at her house that morning, the expression on his face an easy, self-confident smile, reminding her of an earlier time when things had been comfortable between them. He held out his hand to her.

"Come on," he said, "I have something to show you."

Confused, fearful, and excited all at once, Kairi accepted his hand, not at all prepared for Riku to start racing across the island. His path led them straight to the Secret Place, and the tension of her body grew as emotion overwhelmed her. On the path that led into the fateful little cave, they slowed their pace, both growing nervous as the awareness of what was happening came over them. They approached the door in complete silence, and Kairi stopped breathing all together. Involuntarily, her hand let go of Riku's as she looked at the once locked door to the other worlds.

Though the small wooden door was still closed, a new light poured from the previously invisible spaces around the frame.

"Go on," Riku whispered, knowing what she longed to do.

One step, two steps, and Kairi was touching the door. She took a deep breath and lifted her hand. Her palm felt the pressure of the old wood against it, and she pushed it slightly, wondering whether she wanted the door to open or not. Sora was there, she reminded herself. If the door were opened, Sora would come back to her, or she could go to Sora. A new wave of resolve overcame her, and she pushed harder this time, noticing how easily the door moved. The light poured into the Secret Place, illuminating it as much as the beach outside was illuminated.

"Oh my gosh!" Kairi cried, wavering between joy and despair, "You've done it. The worlds are connected; you know what that means! Sora, he's going to come home. Aren't you so happy, Riku, we'll get to see Sora again?"

"Yeah," Riku said, turning away, "Wonderful. "

Kairi remembered then what she had been trying to forget: her word to Riku. "Silly Riku," she laughed nervously, attempting unsuccessfully to hide her despair, "I never thought you would actually connect the worlds again. If I had, I never would have . . ."

Riku's voice cut her off. "Look, Kairi, I love you, I really do. As much as Sora does, I swear. I thought that if I could just prove how much I love you, you might . . ."

"Might what?"

"You might love me in return." Riku turned his back to her.

Kairi felt the tears build up in her eyes, for her, for Riku, even for the absent Sora. "Riku, you've . . . you've always been my friend. And I'll never forget all you've done for me. But I really don't know if I could ever see you as more than that. I'll try though, I really will."

"Don't bother," Riku said bitterly, "you'll never stop comparing me to Sora." He picked up his feet and walked away.

"Wait!" She called to Riku's retreating figure. He slowed slightly, hearing her words, but still continued, refusing to listen to them.

Kairi sat against the wall of the cave and wondered what she should do next. In no mood to think clearly, she curled her knees up to her chest and started to cry, falling into silent argument with herself:

"I should go to Riku," one voice said.  
"But I really love Sora," another countered.  
"Sora's gone. He might never come back. At least Riku is here, now."  
"The door was shut; now it's open. Sora will come home now."  
"Riku opened the door, he connected the worlds, and I told him I would love him if he did it. I should at least try."  
"Both of us would be miserable. I would feel like I betrayed Sora with his best friend, and Riku would know that I didn't return his feelings. Why put ourselves through that?"  
"Sora would understand. I have to try to at least be willing to see Riku as more than a friend."  
"Riku is Sora's best friend. He should be more respectful of my feelings towards Sora."  
"I should at least go to Riku and make the offer. If he turns it down, then neither of us is guilty."  
"I will not betray Sora."  
"Will I betray his friend?"

Nothing solved through her inner monologue, Kairi sobbed harder, her tears staining the ground beneath her. She wished for something to come along, something that would make her decision easier. The sound of hinges creaking drew her attention away from her dilemma until she realized it was nothing but her imagination playing tricks on her. She withdrew again, determined to find a solution to her problem. The touch of a hand on her shoulder distracted her before any serious thinking could be done.

"Kairi?" someone familiar called out to her.

"Sora?" Kairi's heart leaped then landed with a thud as she realized how much more difficult the dilemma was now that Sora had returned. Would Sora forgive her? Would he forgive Riku?

"What's wrong?" he said, offering down his hand. Kairi took it instantly, longing to be close to him again. Immediately, they wrapped themselves in a powerful embrace. She took in his scent, the outdoors and the fresh breeze that clung to him. Her tears soaked his clothing, still the same trademark shorts and jacket, and he patted her back, truly meaning to comfort her. "I came back to you, just as I promised."

Between her sobs, Kairi explained what had passed during those three years since the recreation of their world. Her voice trembled with the uncertainty she felt both for his rejection and hers of Riku. Sora pulled away and listened intently to every word, actually thinking about what she was saying. He remained silent even after Kairi had finished her story, thinking about what he should do.

"You should go to Riku," he said at last, averting his eyes from hers.

"What?"

"You should go to Riku," Sora repeated. "I wish it could be us together, but I understand what you did. And now you should go and see if he really does want to be with you. I'll always be here for you, Kairi, always." He opened the palm of her hand and placed something small and solid within it before he curled the fingers back together again. Kairi felt the star-shaped pattern of the object and realized that it was her own lucky charm, given to him so long ago.

He embraced her once more, possibly for the last time, before she left the Secret Place. Kairi left the refuge of the past two years and all its lonesome, despairing thoughts. One more trial, she told herself. One more trial and her fate would be set; either she could remain with Sora, or she would be with Riku. She steeled herself as she crossed the bridge to Riku's island.

As usual, the youth sat on the bent-over paopu tree, looking into the distant sky. His back was turned towards the main island, so Kairi could not guess what he was feeling, though the hunched-over posture hinted that he was thinking hard about something.

"Riku?" Kairi said only to receive no response. She moved closer to him, walking around the tree so that Riku's face came into view. Gone were all attempts to wear a self-confident facade, and only the undisguised pain remained. "Riku," she said, putting on her bossy little-girl tone that she had rarely used since she had returned from her adventures, "we're going to talk."

"Fine. What's to talk about?"

Kairi blushed. "Well, I've been thinking . . . I wouldn't really mind if we were to become more than friends. You've been one of my best friends for years, and I can't just put my life on hold. It was sort of a promise after all, and you completed your conditions."

Riku jumped from the trunk of the tree and landed just a foot away from Kairi. He took both her hands in his and pulled her close. It was not horrible, as she might have imagined it to be, though immediately guilt pounded her as she remembered the feeling of Sora's arms around her just a few minutes ago. He bent down and kissed her once, a gentle brush of his lips against her forehead. When he retreated, a small smile played across his face.

"Forget about it," he said, obviously meaning these words, "You wouldn't be happy with me, not when you have memories of Sora to keep you company. I still love you, but I don't want to force you into anything. I'd rather be just a friend or brother to you."

"You mean it?" Kairi could not hide her joy.

Riku nodded. "Of course."

She hugged Riku in a purely platonic embrace. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you." Kairi ran from the island, unable to wait to tell Sora the good news.

Sora and Kairi fulfilled the promise that came from sharing the same heart. Together, they lived in joy, and when adulthood fully smiled upon them, they fulfilled the prophecy drawn on the wall of the cave. They plucked a single paopu from the tree on Riku's island, and split it in half, partaking happily of its flesh and connecting their destinies once and for all.

Riku, for his part, kept to his word to view Kairi as a friend or a sister, though misery still churned within him for not having her. He and Sora managed to patch the friendship between them even, though without the easy camaraderie and competition of the earlier times. He never forgot his promise to the magician, though, to sacrifice his heart in return for connecting the worlds again. He lived his life until that day, refusing to let his dread suck away what pleasure remained in it. He avoided going to the Secret Place, hoping to delay the inevitable, for the magician was surely to return and demand the bargain to be fulfilled.

The morning arrived when such an event became inevitable. The Secret Place beckoned to Riku, and he followed the instinct that led him to his fate. He walked slowly, taking in everything around him and fighting off the urge to challenge everybody to one last duel. He would not remember anything, he comforted himself. No more hope would remain in no more life, but no more painful memories of Kairi and Sora would haunt him. In those terms he would gladly accept oblivion, but the falsehood of that statement rang loudly, despite his desire to believe it to be true. He did not exactly remember that time when he had lost his heart in Hollow Bastion, but he remembered the despair and the pain of being devoured from the inside.

The hooded figure waited for him in the Secret Place, just as Riku had expected. He stepped into the cave, reluctantly accepting his fate.

"Why so glum?" the voice asked, and this time Riku could place that voice firmly in his memory as the voice of Ansem, the one who had taken his heart before. "Did you not enjoy your time with the princess?"

"I never had it," Riku confessed.

"And why not?"

Riku began his story slowly, recalling both the details of the day when he released Kairi from her promise and the details he had learned afterward from Kairi and Sora. He explained how Kairi had never thought Riku would accomplish her task and had never suspected that someone would come along who could connect the worlds. He explained how he knew that Kairi would never fall in love with him, and that when she did make the offer at Sora's urging, he could not accept it with that knowledge. And so, he stepped forward to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"I regret you were not happy with what happened, but we had a deal. I kept my part of the bargain; now it is time for you to keep yours." Ansem's cloaked figure raised one hand and pointed it towards Riku.

Pure terror coursed through his veins as he felt his heart loosen from his body and struggle to escape. He looked for something, someone to hold on to and keep him fighting. He pictured Kairi in his mind, trying to summon all the love he had once felt for her, and missing that, looked for the friendship that used to connect them. His heart pounded more frantically, looking to escape from Riku's prison. He turned his mind to Sora, remembering the friendly ease and trust they used to have. He remembered everything Sora had done for him, how much that friendship had meant. The pounding became incessant as Riku looked for a way to fight it. Slowly, his heart tore from his body, escaping from the shell. Ansem laughed in his victory; his first victim in the fight to reconquer the darkness. Riku fell back, surrendering his heart to the darkness. His strength deserted him, and he almost welcomed the thought of forgetting who and what he was.

"Riku!" two voices called from the light as he fell deeper into the darkness. "Riku, snap out of it." He stopped falling, suspended between the way to the light and the supreme darkness.

"Sora? Kairi?" he whispered, "Is that you?" Riku struggled upwards, following the voices and drawing resolve from their sources.

"Riku!" Kairi's voice answered alone, "Don't give up. You have to fight it. Fight back the darkness. Ansem's weak in this form; you can fight his power, just like Sora's fighting him now. Don't give up."

"Kairi!" He pushed his way through the darkness, slowly opening his eyes as he woke up again. His brain felt distant, and his body was overcome with several waves of nausea, disturbed by the sudden surfacing of his heart. Through blurry vision, he saw Sora holding back Ansem with his Keyblade and Kairi kneeling over him, supporting his head with one of her arms. He could not move any part of his body; even his eyes stood immobile on the scene of Sora and Kairi holding back Ansem. And with a scream, the cloaked magician felt the light radiating from the door of the secret place and vanished into the air, leaving everyone to wonder at his fate.

"You . . ." Riku said, when he regained the strength to talk again, "You saved me. How did you . . . how did you know?"

"We heard the commotion from the Secret Place," Kairi explained, "and since you're the only person who visits that musty old cave anymore, we figured you might have been in trouble."

"We always wondered how you did it," Sora added, "How could you connect the worlds, when nobody else could seem to find a way?"

"You weren't supposed to know," Riku said, speaking more easily each minute, "Ansem came to me and offered to open the door. I thought you might have loved me then, and I agreed to make the deal."

"And you sacrificed your heart," Kairi finished. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What good would it have done?" Riku asked. "It would have been better if neither of you found out."

Kairi shook her head stubbornly. "If we hadn't found out, you would have been a Heartless now, Riku. Don't tell me it would be better that way. You're our friend, after all."

Riku looked up at the smiling Sora and Kairi. "Sora, Kairi, thank you," he said after a long pause, meaning the words, "Now let's get out of this place. I don't think I want to see it ever again." With the help of his friends, Riku managed to get to his feet, and with an arm slung around each of his friends, he slowly made his way out of the cave and back into the light of day, ready to continue with the life he had put on hold since the restoration of the island, truly secure for the first time that he had done the right thing for both himself and his friends by releasing Kairi from his promise.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally written in 2003.


End file.
